Time switch



May 24, 1932 w. E. PQRTER 1,860,159

TIME SWITCH Flsd Jan4 1951 riventcr: |ard E. Porter,

H i5 Attorn ey.

Patented May 24, 1932V UNITED STATES PATENT FFCE.

WILLARD E. PORTER, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO. T GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TIME SWITCH Application tiled January 22, 1931.

My invention relates to time switches and its object is to provide an improved time switch for general application which may be set with a high degree of accuracy and the switch contacts of which may be operated by hand at any time without interfering with or disturbingr the automatic setting. The energy for operating the switch automatically is obtained from the timing niotor and gradually stored in springs and released at the proper times, determined by the setting, for positive operation of the switch mechanism. In case the "on" or olf time setting of the switch is advanced by hand, such operation automatically winds the corresponding operating spring by an amount proportional to the advance. in setting so that such operation never increases the burden of thc timing motor or reduces the energy available for automatic operation. 'l`hese and other advantageous features, subsequently referred to, are combined in a time switch of compact, rugged construction.

The features of my invention which are believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference is made. in the following description to the accompanying drawings.

In Fig. 1 the essential parts of my time switch are represented in perspective in a somewhat less compact arrangement than that employed in its actual construction. Parts of the supporting structure and the casing have been omitted. Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the time setting dials.

The motor for establishing the timing function and supplying the energy for automatic operation is represented at 10 and in this instance comprises a self-starting synchronous motor of a type extensively used for driving various timing devices when connected to an alternating.current system of regulated frequency. 11 is a usual clock dial having hour and minute hands 12 and il. These hands are driven from the synchronous motor through the usual gear train, noty shown` and constitute a well known, highly reliable synchronous motor driven clock. Other forms of clocks may be used Serial N0. 510,490.

if provided with sufficient energy for operating the time switch mechanism now to be described.

The time switch mechanism is operated from the clock train through gears 1-1, 15, 16, 17 and 1S, Gears 15 and 1G are secured together and in the design represented malte one revolution in 12 hours in a clockwise di rection. Gear 16 drives gears 17 and 18 in counter-clockwise directions one revolution in Q1 hours. Gear 16 is of sutiicient length that gears 17 and 18 may be moved endwisc in the operation of the time switch without breaking mesh with gear 1G. To assist in the explanation of the invention, it may be said that the time switch drive separates into two parts at gear 16, one part going to gear 17 and the other part to gear 18 and that these last-mentioned gears operate two mechanisms which are similar, one. for performing the on function and the other for performing the ofi"" function of the device.

The switch member on which these two mechanisms operate is represented at 19 and in this instance comprises an insulated lever pivoted at 2O and provided with a handle 21, extending toward the front, for manual operation, a Contact arm '22 extending to the rear, and upwardly extending arms or pins 28 and 24 on opposite sides of the pivot point i2() by means of which the switch lever is automatically operated by the two time switch mechanisms cont-rolled by gears 17 and 1d respectively.

The mechanism between gear 17 and oper` ating pin 23 of the switch lever for performing the on function will now be explaine Gear 17 is secured to thc forward end of a. sleeve 25 free to rotate and slide endwise on a relatively stationary shaft 9. Secured to the back end of this sleeve is a circular disc 26 and a hublile member Q7 having a cam surface on its rear face. The slope of this cam surface is uniform and extends completely around the hub and the beginning and ends of the cam surface being connected by a step substantially parallel with the shaft 9. This cam cooperates with a relatively stationary cam 28 secured to shaft 9 adjacent its rear end. The two cam surfaces are similar-*and face each other and are held in Contact by a compression spring 29 coiled about sleeve 25 between the disc 26 and the front plate 3() through which shaft 9 and sleeve 25 extend. The arrangement of the cams is such that as cam 27 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction through sleeve 25 and gear 17, the sleeve assembly will be moved gradually endwise or axially toward the. front over substantially a 24 hour period and at the end of such period the steps in the cam surfaces will come into alignment and spring 29 will sud denly force the sleeve member to the rear the length of the cam step.

It will be seen that during the substantially 24 hour period while the sleeve assembly is being forced toward the front, energy from the synchronous motor is being stored in spring 29 which resists the slow axial movement and this energy is suddenly released when the steps in the cam surfaces coincide. Use is made of this sudden axial movement and release of energy to move switch lever 19 from the off to the on position. This is accomplished through a U-shaped lever member comprising arms 31 and 32 both secured to a shaft 33. Arm 31 has its outer end turned up so as to be engaged as hereinafter described by the rear under surface of dise y26. The outer end of arm 32 contains a slot through which pin 23 of the switch lever 19 extends. This lever member is pivoted on the axis of shaft 33 so that when disc 26 suddenly moves to the rear it normally engages arm 31 and carries it, together with arm 32 and pin 23, to the rear. This rotates the switch member 19 about its pivot 20 from the off position shown to the on7 position where its switch contact 34 engages with stationary contact 35.

I have previously mentioned that the switch 19 may be operated manually in either direction at any time. In order that this may be accomplished means are provided for lowering the outer end of arm 31 so that itwill pass freely beneath disc 26 without engagement therewith, when disc 26 is in any position to interfere otherwise with such free movement. The only exception to this occurs at the instant when disc 26 is suddenly carried to the rear in its automatic switch operating movement previously explained, at which time the arm 31 must of course be'in the raised position. Switch lever 19 must also be free to move when the second automatic switch mechanism controlled by gear 18 operates and this is another reason for normally maintaining arm 31 in such a position that it will not engage dise 26 by reason of the movement of the switch lever 19. Arm 31 is pivoted in shaft so that its outer end may be raised and lowered. A spring 36 maintains arm 31 raised against a stop lever 37 which lever is itself biased upward by reason of its light spring snpport 38 andywhen free to do so, rests lightly against the under side of disc 2G. Fig. 1 shows the raised position of 31 and 37 and when thus positioned the upper outer end of arm 31 is in position to be engaged by disc 26 in its sudden backward axial movement. It will be noted that the upper rear surface of stop lever 37 is beveled at 39 so that as dise 26 moves to the rear and approaches the end or limit of such axial movement, it will depress stop lever 37 and with it arm 31 to a point where arm 31 may move beneath disc 2G without engagement therewith. The depressing of arm 31 does not occur however until the automatic switch operating movement performed thereby is completed. A catch lever 40 pivoted at 41 contains a notch positioned to engage the free end of stop lever 37 when in the depressed position to maintain it in such position as disc 26 gradually moves toward the front in the 24 hour period following an automatic operation. Catch lever 4() is biased toward its holding position by a light spring and provided with a bent-over linger 42 at its top extending toward disc y26. As disc 26 approaches the limit of its axial movement toward the front, it engages finger 42 and moves lever 10 so as to release stop lever 37 and permit it to raise. Arm 31 is thus allowed to move upward again into operating position. The lateral position of disc 26 is new such that it is to the right or front of arm 31 for any position of switch lever 19 so that even though arm 31 is in the raised position the switch arm may be freely operated by hand or by the other automatic mechanism. The position of disc 26 just described is that illustrated in Fig. 1, catch lever 4() has released stop lever 37 and o erating lever 31 is in the raised position. n a short period of time, assuming normal operation of the clock, the steps in the cam surfaces 27 and 28 will be in alignment and an automatic switch movement will occur. If, previous to such'automatic operation, switch lever 19 should be moved to the on position by hand, it will remain in such posit-ion and the subsequent automatic movement of disc 26 to the rear will merely confirm such manual operation and depress and lock stop lever 37 and operating lever 31 in the lower inactive positions. From the above explanation it is seen that the switch lever is free to be operated by hand in either direction and may be left in any position without interference from the automatic control mechanism except at the instant the automatic function is performed and the operating means between the switch and automaic mechanism is connected only during, and in response to. an automatic operation.

This automatic operating function normally occurs once in a given period of time such as a 24 hour day when the steps in the done by turning shaft 9 a front thumb-piece 43 secured thereto.

assunse Shaft 9 is normally held from turning by a friction clutch having-spring-pressed plates 44 secured tok shaft 9 and embracing the rear -rame plate 45 as the stationary part ot' the clutch. A closely graduated time dial 4G is secured to shaft 9 and cooperates with a stationary pointer 47 at .the front ot the device for the purpose of manually setting the mechanism for automatic operation at the desired predetermined time. The dial is ot' course 'graduated for 24 hours and divided into A; M. andP. M. halves. A more detail View of such a dial is shown in Fig. 2.

In making'any` substantial change in setting in the time of operationl of the switch mechanismt'he setting dial 43 should be rotated in a clockwise direction. The reasons for this are', first. that it is of course'impossible to rotate cam '28 in a counter-clockwise direction past a point where the cam steps come together; second. the movements of the stop leverv37 and catch lever 40 in their action on .operating lever 31 will be always the same as that. previously described if in setting cam 28 the latter is turned in a clockwise direction; and third, the rotation of cam 28 in a clockwise direction supplements the action of the lsynchronous motor in storing energy in spr-ingv29since such manual operation results in moving sleeve 25 and the parts connected thereto forward to compress spring 29. To' illustrate this point. let us assume the switchis set for operationA at 2 A. M. and the clock indicates 3 A. M. For one hour' the synchronous motor has been gradually storing energy in the 'spring' Q9 since the previous vautomatic operation and will continue to store energy at the same rate for the 4neXtfZS hours if the setting is not changed. However, let us assume that the switch is now reset manually for operation at4 A. M. by turning dial 46 in a clockwise direction 22/24ths of a revolution.- This manual operation compresses 'spring Q9 exactly 'thegsame amount that it would'be compressed by the synchronous motor operating over a 22 hour period se that during the one hou-r period from 3 A. M. to 4 A. M.. following t-he manual :sett-innr just described until the automatic operation occurs, the synchronous motor does not'have its load increased above normal. and moreover. when the automatic operation does occur, the spring contains the full amount of energy required for theautomatic operation of the switch. For minor adjustments of the setting dial 46, it may be turned in either direction unless such adjustment is over a range where the cam steps meet, in which case `dial 46 can only be adjusted in a clockwise direction and such adjustment will then cause the operation of the switching mechanism. lf desired, the shaft 9 may be extended to the rear and the setting dial 46 and thumb nut 43 may be placed at the rear ot" the casing.

ln order to maintain the proper' relation between the time switch setting'dial land thc time as indicated bv the clock hands,- it is essential that in resetting the clock hands on any occasion the entire gear train between the clock hands and cam 2T be rotated a corresponding amount In other words, cam 2'? v train is connected to the clock hand side of i such friction clutch.

l have now described the construction and operation ot that part of the mechanism for automatically moving the. switch lever 19 from oil to on position, together with the arrangement` for permitting tree movement of the switch lever and the setting' of the' `iechanism to operate at a predetermined time. The mechanism for automatically moving the switch lever from on to off position and the related arrangement is similar to that already described except in a few details which will now be mentioned. This second mechanism is operated by gear 18 which rotates in the same direction and at the saine rate as gear 17. The automatic movement oit lever 3Q. connected to switch lever 19 through pin 24 is exactly the same as the automatic movement of lever 32 in its action on pin 23, but since pin 24 is on the opposite side ot the pivotpoint 2O from pin :23, the movement ot the switch lever 19 occasioned thereby is in the opposite direction or such as to move the switch from the on to the off position in-,

stead of from the oil to the on position.

The stop lever 37 and operating lever 314 are shown in the depressed or inactive positions and catch lever 40 is being moved to release but has as yet not released stop lever 37.

Connected to rotate with gear 18 oi they second mechanism is a cam disc 50 having; two sections of diil'ercnt radius each extending halt' way around the disc. This cam operates an A. M. and P. M. semaphore lever l to indicate in an opening 52 in the clock dial.

llhcn the lower end of lever 5l rests againstg ot' the lever will indicate l. M. in the opening 52. This assists in obtaining the correct relation between the clock hands and .time switch gear train when the clock hand-lare set since the clock has a 12 hour dial and the time switch a 24 hour dial. Thus, iffthe clock hands are set at 3 45 in the morning, and the semaphore should indicate P. M., it would be necessary to advance the clock hands and connected parts 12 hours in order to bring'the time switch mechanism into the proper relation. If this is done, then the semaphore will be operated by cam 50 to show A. M. in the opening 52 and the cams 27 and 27 will be rotated 180 degrees with respect to their time setting cams. One can then rest assured that if he sets the time switch to go on at 8 A. M., it will function at that time, whereas, otherwise it might function either at 8 A. M. or 8 P. M.

In the illustration the lock indicates 7: 45 A. M., the dial 46 is set for an on operation at 8 A. M., and the dial 46 is set for an off operation at 10 A. M. It can be seen from the relative positions of cams 27 and 27 with respect to the stationary but relatively adjustable cams controlled by the setting of dials 46 and 46 that the switch mechanism is in roper synchronous relation with the clock ands. However when the time switch is housed in a casing it may not be feasible to look at the cams and hence the semaphore is desirable.

Since an automatic operation of the switch immediately depresses the corresponding operating lever 31 or 31 and frees the switch lever, 1t is seen that theoretically there is no limit to the closeness at which the on and off settings may be made to each other except that both can not function automatically at the same instant, since then one mechanism would oppose the other. However, it will be apparent that a very short on period or a very short ott period may be had.

It will be noted that the switch contacts 34 comprise spring clips and cooperate with stationary blades 35 and 35. The energy of spring 29 or the corresponding spring of the other mechanism is suliicient to positively close such circuit controller in either direction, making a firm wiping contact and because of the knife blade character oi.k the switch it will be positively held in either circuit controlling position by its own spring friction until moved to some other iosition either manually or automatically. f s illustrat-ed, stationary contact 35 comprises one terminal of the switch, and the movable contact Bit-he other. The other contact 35 may also be used for controlling a different circuit and other contact. arrangements may be used as desired.

In the present embodiment of my time switch, I have represented two complete and similar mechanisms for operating the Vswitch lever 19. It is seen that the construction and function of each mechanism is complete in itself and that time switches may e built having one, two, or more such mechanisms operating upon one or more switch levers, as desired.

The time switch herein described has been built in forms adapted for controlling radio sets and for controlling electric ranges. The details of construction may differ somewhat, depending on the use for which the switch is intended, the nature of the circuit or circuits controlled, etc. I do not wish to limit my invention to immaterial details of construction, to any particular use, or to the number or nature of the circuit controlled, but seek claims commensurate with the true spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the lnited States, is,-

1. A time switch comprising a member mounted for rotational and axial movement, timing means for rotating said member at a uniform speed to make a revolution in a predetermined interval of time, cam means for gradually moving said member axially in one direction a limited extent while it is being rotated over substantially a full revolution, means for resisting such axial movement and for suddenly moving said member axially in the opposite direction tothe same. extent at one point in its revolution, a switch movable in opposite directions to different circuit controlling positions, operating means for said switch movable therewith and also movable to and from a position where it may be engaged by said member in its sudden axial movement to move said switch in one direction, means responsive to the sudden axial movement of said member for moving said operating means to the diseugaging position as the member approaches the limit of such axial movement, and means responsive to the slow axial movement of said member in the opposite direction for moving said operating means to the engaging position as the meniber approaches the limit of such axial movement.

2. A time switch comprising a member mounted for rotational and axial movement, means for rotating said member at a uniform speed to make a revolution in a predetermined interval of time. cam means for gradually moving said member axially in one direction while it is being rotated over substantially a full revolution. a spring for resisting such axial movement and for suddenly moving the member axially in the opposite direction at one point in such revolution, a pivoted switch lever movable in opposite directions to different circuit controlling positions, operating means for said switch lever movable to and from a position where it may be engaged by said member in its sudden axial movement to move said switch lever in one direction, and means actuated by the axial movement of said member for moving said operating position whereby said switch lever is free to move to and from either of its circuit controlling ppsitions without interference from said mem r excefpt during the sudden axial movement thereo 3. In a time switch, a shaft, a sleeve meniber rotatably and slidably mounted on said shaft, a timing motor for slowly rotating said sleeve member, a cam mechanism for slowly moving said sleeve member endwise in one direction as it is rotated over a substantial portion of a revolution, a spring compressed by such endwise movement of the sleeve member, the cam mechanism having a step which permits a sudden movement of the sleeve member in the opposite direction by said spring at a predetermined point in its revolution, a pivoted switch lever movable in opposite directions to different circuit controllin positions, operating means for said switch lever movab e to and roni a position where it may be engaged by the sleeve member, the disengaged position permitting free manual movement of the switch lever in either direction and the engaged position permitting automatic movement of the switch lever in one direction by the sudden endwise movement of said sleeve member, and means controlled by the endwise movements ot said sleeve for moving the operating means trom the engaged to the. disengaged position and vice versa.

4. A time switch comprising a member mounted for rotational and axial movement, means for rotating said member at a uniform speed to make a revolution in a predeter mined interval of time, cam means for gradually moving said member axially in one direction while it is being rotated over substantially a complete revolution, a spring for resisting such movement and for suddenly moving said member axially in the opposite direction at one point in its revolution, means for adjusting thc cam means for determining the point in the revolution of said member where the sudden axial movement will occur., a switch movable in opposite directions to different circuit contro ling positions, operating means for said switch movable to and from a position where it may be engaged by said member in its sudden axial movement to move said switch in one direction. and means actuated by the axial movement of said member tor moving said operating means to and from such engaging position whereby said switch is free to move to and from either of its circuit controlling positions without interference from said member except during the sudden axial movement thereof.

5. A. time switch comprising a circuit controller movable in opposite directions to diterent circuit controlling positions, a clock, a pair of similar mechanisms driven by said means to and from such engaging4 clock, one for automatically moving said circuit controller iii one direction and the other for automatically moving said ciicut controller iii the opposite direction, said mechanisms being independently adjustable to perform their automatic operations at any diiieient predetermined times in a given time interval, such as a day, normally disconnected operating means between said circuit controller and each of said mechanisms through which the automatic operations are performed, and means controlled by said mechanisms for re spectively connecting tlie'corresponding operating means only during the instant of automatic operation.

6. A time switch comprising a circuit controller movable in opposite directions to different circuit controlling positions, a. clock, a pair of similar mechanisms driven by said clock, each mechanism including means for gradually storing energy from said clock and releasing it at a predetermined adjustable time in a given time interval, such as a day, for the automatic operation of said circuit controller, one mechanism operating the circuit controller in one direction and the other mechanism operating the circuit in the opposlte direction, anormally disconnected operating means between said circuit controller and each mechanism, means controlled by the respective mechanisms for connecting its operating means only during the instant of its automatic operation, and manual means for operating said circuit controller in either direction independently ot said mechanisms at il other times.

7. A time switch comprising a clock including a lQ-hour clock dial, and hands therefor,

a mechanism driven from said clock for performing an automatic switching operation at any predetermined adjustable time in a 24- hour day, a. second mechanism driven by said clock for performing another automatic switching operation at any other predetermined time in a 24hour day, separate dials graduated in divisions of a 24e-hour day and in A.. M. and P. M. for respectively adjusting thc times at which the automatic switching operations will be performed by said mechanisms, means vtor simultaneously and synchronously setting the clock hands and the clock driven poitions ot the mechanisms, and means operated by one ot the E24-hour mechanisms for indicating on the clock dial whether the clock hands indicate the A. M. or P. M. position of the automatic mechanism.

ln witness whereof` I have hereunto set my hand this Twentieth day of January, 1931.

VVILLARD E. PORTER. 

